Thames Water hosepipe ban starts in Swindon on 23 July 2026

From Thursday 23 July 2026, households in Swindon and parts of Wiltshire supplied by Thames Water were barred from using hosepipes for non-essential jobs. Swindon24 reported the Temporary Use Ban on 22 July, the day before it began. Thames Water cited a very dry spring, three record-breaking heatwaves and a sharp rise in demand, with some households using up to 50 per cent more water than normal.

What was banned?

Using a hosepipe, sprinkler or pressure washer to:

• water gardens and lawns
• fill paddling pools and hot tubs
• wash vehicles
• clean patios or driveways

Watering cans, buckets and water from water butts were still allowed. There were exemptions for certain businesses, animal welfare, health and safety needs and some customers with medical conditions or disabilities.

What did the council do?

Swindon Borough Council's Deputy Leader, Jake Chandler, said the council's grounds team would stop using mains water on public floral displays and flower beds, including those in its country parks and the town centre, and would instead use water from country park lakes carried in bowsers, as it did the previous year.

Thames Water said it had "acted now to protect essential supplies so taps keep running for everyone's core needs" and would lift the restrictions "as soon as conditions allow". Councillor Jim Robbins, Leader of the Labour Group on the council, said he was "still hugely frustrated by the amount of water Thames Water waste every day".

Source: Swindon24.